Story Highlights

When Touki Toussaint was 10, he made a deal: If his best friend played soccer, Toussaint agreed to give baseball a try.

The Diamondbacks are glad he did. They used their top pick in the amateur draft at No. 16 overall on Toussaint on Thursday night, the second consecutive year they felt fortunate to see a pitcher they liked all along fall to them in the middle of the first round.

Scouts say Toussaint, a right-hander out of Coral Springs (Fla.) Christian, is armed with a mid-90s fastball, a devastating curveball — a pitch some consider the best breaking ball in the draft — and much-improved command. The Diamondbacks see him joining Archie Bradley and Braden Shipley as a potential top-of-the-rotation starter in their system.

"We profile him to be a Number 1- or 2-type starter in the future," Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers said. "It's going to take time to see if that comes to fruition, but I have a lot of trust in those evaluators in the room. I know they were awfully excited. They couldn't believe that he was there. They thought he would probably go even in the top 10. We were excited that he slid to us."

A year ago, the Diamondbacks were thrilled to see Shipley fall to them at No. 15. Towers said he didn't see Toussaint this spring — each year, he likes to scout most of the prospects the club is considering for its top pick — in large part because the Diamondbacks figured he would be gone by their pick.

Toussaint was born in the United States but spent most of the first six years of his life in Haiti. He liked soccer before he tried baseball, a sport he wasn't crazy about at first blush. He said he struck out in 22 of his first 24 at-bats as a 10-year-old.

But he eventually blossomed after moving to the mound, gaining notoriety when his velocity jumped into the mid-90s range his junior year of high school.

"It kind of reminds me when you watch him on video of a young Bob Gibson," Towers said. "The ball comes out of his hand real easy."

His stock continued to rise this year as he refined his command, which he credits to some adjustments, including tweaking his arm slot, and trusting his stuff.

"I just attack hitters," he said. "I'm not afraid of anybody, so I'm just going first-pitch fastballs no matter what and see how far they can hit it. I have fun, stay loose and play baseball."

Toussaint is committed to play at Vanderbilt. He said he planned to talk about his future with his mother sometime in the next day or so.

"I just want to play baseball," he said.

The Diamondbacks continued to go after high school talent with their next three picks.

At No. 54, they took left-hander Cody Reed out of Ardmore (Ala.). Reed has a low to mid-90s fastball as part of the four-pitch mix he used to carve up his competition this spring, recording games with 21, 20, 19 and 19 strikeouts. He is reportedly 6-foot-2, 260 pounds.

At No. 69, they took Junipero Serra (Gardena, Calif.) High outfielder Marcus Wilson. An Arizona State commit, he was described by Baseball America as "a classic, high-risk, high-reward prospect" with five-tool potential. With the 70th overall pick, they went with Springfield (Mass.) Central's Isan Diaz, a left-handed hitting shortstop.

Like Toussaint, Reed and Diaz are also committed to Vanderbilt.

The draft will continue Friday with rounds three through 10 before concluding with rounds 11 through 40 on Saturday.

Draft bios

Touki Toussaint

Position: RHP

School: Coral Springs (Fla.) Christian Academy

Drafted: First round, No. 16 overall

Toussaint is considered a classic projectable high school right-hander, a pitcher with good size (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) and long arms with plenty of room to improve. That's not to say his stuff isn't already good. He runs his fastball into the mid-90s and throws a curveball that some regarded as the best breaking ball in the draft. John Hart, a former big league executive, compared him to Bob Gibson on MLB Network's draft coverage, a comparison that Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers echoed with reporters.

Cody Reed

Position: LHP

School: Ardmore (Ala.) High

Drafted: Second round, No. 54 overall

Reed was named the Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year after posting a 0.46 ERA with 226 strikeouts and only 17 walks in 92 innings. Eighty-two percent of the outs he recorded this season came via the strikeout. On March 22, he tied a state record for strikeouts in a seven-inning game with 21 (out of 22 batters faced). He is committed to play at Vanderbilt.

Marcus Wilson

Position: OF

School: Junipero Serra (Gardena, Calif.) High

Drafted: Competitive Balance Round B, No. 69 overall

Wilson is considered a superior athlete with loads of potential but a ways to go before he reaches it. His scouting report at ESPN.com called him "still more athlete than baseball player right now, but (he) has shown considerable improvement the last two years." He has a wiry, 6-foot-3 frame and scouts say he could grow into some power at the plate. He's said to have plus speed and an average to above-average arm, giving him the tools necessary to play center field.

Isan Diaz

Position: SS

School: Springfield (Mass.) Central High

Drafted: Competitive Balance Round B, No. 70 overall

A left-handed hitting middle infielder, Diaz's calling card is his swing. He is said to have a fluid, contact-oriented swing. Per Baseball America, he has "drawn comparisons to Jose Vidro as a 5-foot-11 left-handed hitter with a chance to hit." Most scouts believe his below-average throwing arm will limit him to second base as a pro, but he can "really play defense, with outstanding hands and instincts," according to MLB.com. He told ESPN.com in April that he expected to go pro so long as he was drafted in the top five rounds. He is a Vanderbilt commit.​